The Fiatagri 45-66 is one of the tractors of the Fiat 66 Series, which Fiat launched in 1982 as its “daily” range: machines intended to handle any everyday job on small and medium farms. The 45-66 itself belongs to the second series of 1985, when the line-up was reorganised and expanded.
Fiatagri 45-66 at a glance
| Maker | Fiat Trattori, later FiatAgri (Modena) |
|---|---|
| Series | Fiat 66 Series |
| First series | 1982: 466, 566, 666, 766 |
| Second series | 1985: 35-66 to 95-66, including the 45-66 |
| Range of the series | 45 to 80 hp (34 to 60 kW) |
| Nickname | the “daily” tractors |
| Intended market | small and medium farms, everyday tasks |
| Also sold as | Hesston in the United States, later Ford and New Holland |
| Under the New Holland name | until 2003 |
| Livery of the period | burgundy, adopted when FIAT Trattori became FIATAgri |
The 45-66 has no Wikipedia article of its own: it is named in the model lists of the Fiat Trattori article (English and Italian), which also describe the 66 Series. No individual specifications for the model are given there, so this page stays at series level.
History of the Fiatagri 45-66
A series built for daily work
Fiat presented the 66 Series in 1982 as a new range of tractors from 45 to 80 hp (34 to 60 kW). The company called them the “daily” tractors, because they were designed to perform any everyday task on small and medium farms — the kind of work that made up most of the hours put on a farm tractor in Europe at the time. The first series was made up of the 466, 566, 666 and 766 models.
The second series of 1985
In 1985 the range was renewed. The second series of the 66 line was much wider, running from the 35-66 up through the 50-66, 55-66, 56-66, 60-66, 65-66, 70-66 and 80-66 to the 95-66. The 45-66 sat near the bottom of that list, among the smaller tractors of the family, and shared the series’ role as an all-round farm machine rather than a specialist row-crop or high-power unit.
A tractor sold under several names
The 66 Series was not sold only as a Fiat. In the United States it appeared under the Hesston brand, the American forage-equipment maker that Fiat took over in 1977, and later the same tractors were marketed with the Ford and then the New Holland names until 2003. That long life under different badges reflects how widely the series was distributed rather than any change to the basic machine.
Design and features
- Everyday usefulness: the whole series was pitched at the routine work of small and medium farms, which is where its “daily” name came from.
- Wide line-up: the second series covered models from the 35-66 to the 95-66, so a buyer could stay within one family of tractors as the farm grew.
- Several badges: the same range was sold as Hesston in the United States and later as Ford and New Holland in Europe.
- FiatAgri livery: tractors of this period wore the burgundy paint that replaced the old orange when FIAT Trattori became FIATAgri.
Fiatagri 45-66 versions
- First series (1982): 466, 566, 666 and 766.
- Second series (1985): 35-66, 45-66, 50-66, 55-66, 56-66, 60-66, 65-66, 70-66, 80-66 and 95-66.
- Hesston-badged examples: the American version of the series.
- Ford and New Holland examples: later versions of the same tractors sold in Europe until 2003.
The 45-66 was one of the smaller tractors of its generation; the larger FiatAgri models of the 1980s are covered in the articles on the 55-90 and the 130-90. The earlier Fiat 80 Series is described with the Fiat 980. More tractors are in the Fiatagri collection.
Video: Fiat 45 66 aratura
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Fiat Trattori, English Wikipedia: 66 Series, power range, Hesston, Ford and New Holland names
- Fiat Trattori, Italian Wikipedia: model lists of the first and second 66 series, FiatAgri name and livery
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